Turner Broadcasting

Hulu CEO Randy Freer signaled that the company could be interested in expanding internationally as it awaits the outcome of the Disney-Fox merger.

Kevin Reilly, a veteran network executive, aims to transform two cable networks that have come to be known for the repeats they carry.

TNT, TBS and CNN are the latest major additions to AT&T’s soon-to-launch virtual-MVPD service, DirecTV Now, following a comprehensive carriage renewal agreement signed between AT&T and Turner Networks.

Turner has landed exclusive basic cable rights to the Star Wars film franchise for TNT and TBS. The deal includes the network premieres of last year’s Star Wars: The Force Awakens and the upcoming Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, as well as five of the six original Star Wars films, as well as the network television premieres of three future installments.

TNT’s crime-fighting duo, Rizzoli & Isles, solved their final murder mystery last Monday, capping a successful seven-season run. Turner execs retired the show because it wasn’t connecting with throngs of younger viewers. Canceling a beloved TV show is just one of several surprising steps Turner has taken to stand out in an increasingly crowded market. Turner has slashed the number of commercials in its original dramas on TNT — an almost unheard of move in the TV industry — as well as switched to more provocative fare.

Turner’s CEO John Martin says the company has begun to build out the necessary tech to stream its content over the internet. That means Turner will eventually compete with its own paying customers like Comcast and Charter, but it has become imperative to put Turner on a course to offer an end-to-end solution, direct to consumer.

TV viewers, generally speaking, hate ads. Now Turner Broadcasting — hoping to deter audiences from skipping or tuning out commercials — has ripped a page from the online-video playbook with the test of a countdown clock showing exactly how much time is left in every ad break.

One day soon, broadcasters will have the ability to do much more than distribute linear channels and support digital and social media platforms. The next big wave in TV will involve delivering content for channels that can be customized to individual viewer tastes, and the technology that will enable companies to cash in on this multi-billion dollar opportunity is IP. This story is part 2 of a series, Tech Leaders on the IP Transition, sponsored by Grass Valley, a Belden brand. Read part 1 here.

Turner Broadcasting is introducing a new over-the-top streaming TV service that will bring art house movies into the home. Turner plans to announce today that it’s launching FilmStruck, a subscription service offering cult, foreign and independent films that appeal to movie aficionados.

The extension announced today goes all the way through 2032. It retains the existing format for TV, with early-round games aired across CBS and three Turner networks: TBS, TNT and truTV. The Final Four will keep alternating between CBS and Turner. The extension pays an average of $1.1 billion per season, up from more than $770 million on average under the current contract.

How will Turner Broadcasting, NBCUniversal’s CNBC and Sinclair Broadcast Group navigate television’s transition from baseband SDI to an IP environment? Senior engineering executives at all three companies participated in a roundtable interview about how they are making the move. Matthew Holcombe, VP, Turner Production Broadcast Engineering; Del Parks, SVP and CTO of the Sinclair Broadcast Group; and Steve Fastook, SVP of technical and commercial operations at CNBC, revealed how they’re currently deploying IP, why they are doing so and where they hope IP-based technologies will take their operations in the future. Highlights of that interview, produced for Grass Valley by NewsCheckStudio, are here. Full interview here. 

Several big media companies have agreed to make content available for a planned YouTube subscription service that will let consumers watch videos without any ads, despite their initial reservations, people familiar with the matter say. The companies that have signed up include Time Warner’s Turner cable unit, Fox Sports, A+E Networks and NBCUniversal. Disney is among those that remain in negotiations.

Rentrak today announced an agreement with Turner Broadcasting for Rentrak Advanced Demographics that will provide data for select advertisers around Turner’s suite of advanced advertising products. This agreement, an expansion […]

Donna Speciale, president of Turner ad sales, told clients Turner is “one unified portfolio representing 15,000 hours of premium content, on every screen, every platform … reaching 75% of all Americans. In this new world, dayparts are dead,” Speciale told advertisers, who are increasingly buying branded content and pre-rolls, not traditional :30 commercial time.

At the Turner upfront Wednesday morning, Kevin Reilly rolled out a very ambitious plan, including a rebrand of TBS, a makeover for TNT, a goal to double production of original content over the next three years, and a new ad program called the Turner Data Cloud. It’s all a part of a push by Turner, and cable TV generally over the past few years, to compete more closely with broadcast for both ratings and ad dollars.

Hulu, under a new deal with Turner Broadcasting, will become the exclusive subscription video on-demand home to programming from Adult Swim and Cartoon Network, as well as select series from TNT and TBS. The deal, announced Thursday, marks the first licensing agreement between Turner Broadcasting and Hulu.

The deals were a long time coming considering that Dish Network and Turner Broadcasting ended a month-long blackout of the programmer’s channels in November. Following temporary extensions of the carriage pacts that expired last year, the companies said today that Dish will continue to offer Time Warner’s Turner channels and HBO via “separate distribution agreements” that involve “multiple platforms.”

Ad revenue is up and viewership should be as well, with Kentucky aiming to become the first undefeated champion in decades. Either way, Turner and CBS win.

The rhetoric is flying again as TV networks square off against pay TV companies over how much money their programming is worth. But this time the networks may benefit from a scheduling coincidence that plays in their favor. Dish Network is currently juggling negotiations with two big programmers, CBS and Turner Broadcasting. While high-profile carriage disputes have become common, CBS has a potential new tool in its negotiations this time: the All Access service it introduced last month, allowing users to pay $5.99 a month for access to live-streamed, on-demand and older shows without a traditional pay-TV subscription.

Following one of the lengthiest executive courtships, former Fox Chairman Kevin Reilly has closed a deal to join Turner Broadcasting as president of TNT and TBS and chief creative officer of Turner Entertainment. Starting this fall and based in Los Angeles, Reilly will report to David Levy, president of Turner Broadcasting.

Dish Network Chairman Charlie Ergen was in rare form today in his quarterly earnings conference call with analysts and media — especially when asked about his battle with Time Warner’s Turner Broadcasting. All of its channels except for TBS and TNT went dark on the No. 2 satellite company on Oct. 21 as a result of a contract dispute. And Ergen says he’s prepared to dig in his heels, including doing without CNN which he says is “not a top 10 network anymore. Unless they find the Malaysian plane.”

The on-again, off-again Turner-Kevin Reilly courtship is back on. Soon after Turner Broadcasting toppers broke off negotiations with the former Fox chairman two weeks ago, the two sides restarted conversations. Turner Broadcasting President David Levy’s string of meetings last week with prospective candidates to succeed  Steve Koonin included a sit-down with Reilly.

As of 2 a.m. ET on Oct. 21, several Turner Broadcast nets, including CNN, Cartoon Network and TruTV, are no longer available on Dish Network after Turner and the satellite provider could not reach a new deal following lengthy negotiations and extensions to the two companies’ previous contract.

The company said Monday that it will cut about 10% of its total employees.The announcement follows an offer of voluntary buyouts to 600 veteran employees in August, part of an overall cost-cutting effort at the company’s news, entertainment, kids, young adult and sports networks and businesses, as well as corporate functions, in 18 Turner locations around the world.

In addition to continuing to oversee sales and domestic revenue, David Levy will now oversee all creative business activity for the company’s domestic entertainment portfolio.

Phil Kent is leaving Turner Broadcasting on Jan. 1, 2014, as CEO and later that year as chairman. The Atlanta-based executive talks about why he’s leaving, the timing and the shape of the company that employes 13,000 people worldwide, 6,000 of which are based in Atlanta.

The company’s Galaxy 13 satellite delivered a 4:2:2 10-bit, 4K signal at 60 frames per second to Turner Broadcasting’s facility in Atlanta.

Several series from Cartoon Network, Adult Swim and TNT will be made available on the streaming rental service.

Turner Broadcasting System has chosen Digital Rapids‘ Kayak dynamic workflow platform as the technology foundation to power Turner’s media processing operations for its current and future multi-screen video initiatives. The […]

Turner Broadcasting announced its inaugural “Media Camp” — an accelerator for social TV startups (applications had opened up at SXSW). David Austin, senior director of emerging technology for Turner and one of the Media Camp directors, talks about the six startups they’ve selected.

Ad sales for Web streaming of March Madness has grown each year that games have been streamed online, nearly doubling the $32 million sold for the 2009 tournament.

CBS and Turner Broadcasting will start charging some college basketball fans $4 next month to stream the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament across multiple devices — computer, mobile and tablet. However, fans who can prove they pay for cable or satellite TV will be able to stream every game of the tournament for free on their computers.

Major League Baseball plans to revamp its divisions and playoff format with a series of moves that will have significant ramifications for at least two of its media partners — Fox and Turner Broadcasting — and millions of fans.